Underwriters Laboratories said that it is expanding its existing photovoltaics testing lab in San Jose and will open new facilities in Germany and Japan in 2010. UL is also exploring new partnerships in Asia beyond its existing lab in Suzhou, China.
Skyline Solar has appointed Solon CTO Lars Podlowski to its board of directors. Podlowski was tapped by the high-gain solar/CPV company for his combination of extensive technical expertise in the implementation of large-scale solar products, systems, and plants as well as his intimate knowledge of European markets, which Skyline says will help it as the firm looks to expand globally.
GT Solar has received final acceptance for the design, installation, and commissioning of Solar Cells Hellas's integrated solar photovoltaic wafer and cell turnkey fabrication line in Patras, Greece--said to be the first PV manufacturing facility in the country. The multicrystalline-silicon production line has an annual capacity of 30 MW.
Timminco and Q-Cells have reached a new multiyear supply deal for solar-grade silicon, replacing the five-year agreement signed between the two companies in 2008. The new contract calls for deliveries by Timminco to Q-Cells of 100 metric tons of solar silicon for the rest of 2009.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has dedicated a 1-MW photovoltaic power station at the Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant in Riverside County. The 10-acre solar field, which was built by SunPower, will generate about 2.4 million KW-hours of electricity, which will be equivalent to about 25% of the annual power needs of the facility.
The homegrown Russian solar photovoltaic industry appears on the verge of adding significant manufacturing capacity after news that that the Supervisory Council of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, Rusnano, has approved the corporation's participation in a project to build a million-module-per year, 120-MW panel factory using micromorph-silicon thin-film PV technology provided by Oerlikon Solar.
BTU International has hired industry veteran Jan-Paul van Maaren as its new VP of marketing. He will report directly to company chairman/CEO Paul van der Wansem. Van Maaren is charged with all of BTU's strategic marketing and marketing communications activities, with an initial focus on the firm's solar markets.
Spire has signed up three new companies to represent the solar equipment and turnkey line manufacturer's interests in various parts of the globe: Servo Dynamics in China, Energy Control Systems for Pakistan, and PV Middle East for the Gulf Arab States, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates."
The organisers of the International Solar Technology Awards today revealed the shortlist of nominees for the inaugural Cell Awards. The category nominees for the eight International Solar Technology Award are...
Solar-cell maker Suniva has bought a crack detection system from Ultrasonic Technologies. The Norcross, GA-based manufacturer will use the tool, equipped with fully automatic functions, for incoming quality control of silicon wafers as well as final inspection of its monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
